Gly395Arg Polymorphism of PPARα Gene Was Not Detected in Japanese Population of 729 Individuals

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily and participates in the regulation of key proteins involved in lipid metabolism, fatty acid oxidation, homeostasis, and inflammation. Several polymorphisms of the human PPARα gene, such as Leu162Val polymorphism and Val227Ala polymorphism, have been described in different races. Recently, another PPARα polymorphism Gly395Arg polymorphism has been reported in Caucasian and African subjects. Using the Invader assay, we searched for this polymorphism in 729 Japanese adults randomly selected in a rural population. Although the synthesized oligonucleotides of each polymorphism could be distinguished clearly, all 729 individuals had the Gly (G) allele and none had the Arg (C) allele. These data suggest that there is racial variability in the frequencies of PPARα gene polymorphisms.